N.B. MLAs will hold first partly-virtual meeting on Friday

Almost nine months after the COVID-19 pandemic first disrupted the New Brunswick Legislature, the province's MLAs are ready to try their luck holding partly virtual sittings.

A committee of the legislature that reviews legislation will hold its first hybrid meeting on Friday morning, with some MLAs appearing on video screens to question ministers on seven government bills.

"We're hoping that we can proceed with the equipment that we've had installed this week," said Speaker Bill Oliver.

"It's certainly going to be a bit of a test for the system, because we've never used it before."

Six MLAs, the minimum required for a committee to meet, will be physically in the chamber. All will be from yellow zones. Other members from orange zones will take part virtually.

Ministers who need to present their bills and take questions will appear virtually as well if they are from orange zones.

The Nov. 24 adjournment, a week after the session began with the government's Throne Speech, was the third time that COVID-19 restrictions had halted business.

Having a quorum of six MLAs present on Friday will allow the committee meeting to go ahead even if there are problems with the technology, Oliver said. "What we don't want to see is the system shut down and we can't proceed."

But he said testing in the last week had gone well. "So far, everything has shown it's positive."

If everything goes well Friday, the full legislature should be able to resume sitting as scheduled next Tuesday using the hybrid system, Oliver said.

The Speaker, whose Kings Centre riding is in an orange zone, said there's no decision yet on whether he'll travel to Fredericton to preside in person next week

"That's a question we're going to ask of Public Safety and Public Health," he said, adding if he does come in person, he'd probably have to stay in the city for two weeks.

"That'll be decided by Public Health and not by me."

The Nov. 24 adjournment followed two of the province's health zones being put into the orange phase of COVID-19 restrictions, which include limits on travel.

Almost half of the legislature's 49 MLAs are from the two zones. Two days later, a third zone, which includes the Legislative Assembly itself, was moved to orange.

The house adjourned abruptly in March when the provincial lockdown began, then sat for less than an hour during one day in April to deal with urgent legislation.

It then reconvened in May only to suspend its activities again two days later because of an outbreak in the Campbellton zone.

After last month's third adjournment, Green MLAs Kevin Arseneau and David Coon complained that a virtual system had been discussed since April with no apparent progress.

Within days the legislative administration committee had agreed to install equipment for virtual sittings.